Affective Domain Applications in Standards-Based Education

This research examined the attitudes of teachers toward the affective domain in high versus low levels of standards-based instruction. Teachers from a school district in the suburbs of the greater Seattle, Washington, metropolitan area completed a self-report instrument to determine the level of standards-based instruction they use in the classroom. Confirmation of the level of standards-based instruction was ascertained through expert evaluation of classroom learning activities and a student report assessment. Data from these three sources were triangulated and participating teachers were ranked from high to low standards-based instruction level. Teachers in the lowest and highest levels of standards-based instruction completed the Attitudes Towards the Affective Domain instrument. A causal-comparative design was used along with a correlational design. The results were analyzed through a two-tailed t-test. In addition, this study measured the application of the affective domain by teachers who use high levels of standards-based instruction practices to determine differences by grade level through the use of a one-way analysis of variance. Student perception of their teacher\u27s use of standards-based instruction in regards to that which was self-reported by their teachers was correlated using the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient. Results of the study showed a significant difference in the attitudes towards the affective domain of high school teachers who utilize a high level of standards-based instruction practices compared to those teachers who utilize a low level of standards-based instruction practices (t = 2.22, p = 0.033). The findings also revealed a significant relationship (r = 0.71; p \u3c 0.01) between the level of standards-based instruction practices in high school classrooms as perceived by students and the level as self-reported by their teachers